


Footprints in the Sand

by ThePunkRanger



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Papa Kukui, Sun/Moon Anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25002943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePunkRanger/pseuds/ThePunkRanger
Summary: Ash has been living with Professor Kukui for a while now, and though he enjoys the time they’ve spent together, it’s beginning to feel more like home than he’s fully realized.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 126
Collections: Ash Ketchem Best Works, Purrsonal Picks





	Footprints in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

> Based on true events, because I miss Mike and am projecting onto Ash Ketchum of all characters.
> 
> Originally posted on my profile on Pokémon Amino.

“Ash, come on! It’s time to head home!”

Kukui’s voice broke through Ash’s concentration as he watched a pyukumuku inch along the sand.

“Alright, professor!” Ash grabbed his sneakers from the sand beside him, turning toward Pikachu. “Come on, buddy.” Pikachu leapt to his shoulder.

The soft sand burned the bottoms of Ash’s bare feet as he trudged after Kukui, mind wandering as he stared out at the surf.

He’d been in Alola for months now, and even though he wasn’t quite sure he wanted to admit it, the tropical islands were already feeling more like a home to him than Kanto in some respects, and it was hard to argue that Professor Kukui’s generosity wasn’t a large part of that.

 _“I guess Professor Kukui’s kinda like your dad here, huh, Ash?”_ Sophocles’ voice rang through his head.

In the moment, he had agreed without thinking about it much. Sure, Kukui was his “dad” here, as an older male guardian. That was what a dad was, wasn’t it? It wasn’t anything earth-shattering. Ash turned his eyes to his feet as he trudged, wishing he’d had longer to run with Pikachu in the waves, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Because they weren’t his tracks.

He had been walking, step for step, in Professor Kukui’s larger footprints. And now as he stood still, his small feet fit perfectly in the middle of them.

_“Kukui’s kinda like your dad here.”_

It was true. Truer than he’d ever thought to believe. Because Ash Ketchum, pokémon trainer extraordinaire, didn’t have a father.

Sure, there had been times when he’d laid awake at night, in his bed or under the stars, wishing that his dad would come back, wondering if a game of catch or going fishing was really all it was cracked up to be. But all kids whose dads left felt like that sometimes, right?

But now, looking back on the last several months, he realized that he didn’t have to wonder anymore.

Because Professor Kukui played ball with the class most days during recess. Because he came with Ash while he was wandering around, looking for wild pokémon. Because they trained together in the sand. Because sometimes, when he couldn’t sleep, Professor Kukui would take him out to the porch, and they would sit in comfortable silence and listen to the waves until Ash fell asleep sitting up, only to wake up in the morning on the couch.

 _That_ was what a dad was.

Kukui was his dad. Not in blood, but in action. More a dad than his real one had ever been.

“Ash, you okay?”

He looked up quickly, hoping that Kukui wouldn’t see the over-brightness in his eyes, and flashed him a grin.

“Yeah, Professor! I’m coming!”

Ash raced forward, coming abreast to Professor Kukui, and they walked the rest of the way home, leaving two matching sets of footprints in the sand.


End file.
